Shanghai vs. Stern: “Pretty Much The Same”

Isabel Adler explores the differences and similarities between courses at NYU Shanghai and NYU Stern School of Business.

Considering the 8,000 miles separating Shanghai and New York City, one would think the courses at the two sites would vary quite a bit. However, students who studied at both Stern and Shanghai detail the experience, “pretty much the same.”

Stern has consistently ranked in the top ten business schools in the United States. Noted for its competitive, cutthroat environment, many Shanghai students choose to study away there to get the “complete NYU experience.” Shanghai senior Osman Syed, a Business & Finance major, took Intro to Marketing and Principles of Accounting during his study away, both of which are available in Shanghai.

“Stern classes are competitive and discourage collaboration and peer interaction, whereas Shanghai classes inspire cooperation with other students,” said Syed.

Shanghai, 1/25 the size of the New York campus, is appreciated for its small class size and, by default, collaborative community.

The New York professors prove to be one of the biggest benefits for Shanghai students when they return; they have often been described as super engaging, thought provoking, and intellectually challenging.

On the flip side, New York junior and Business and Political Economy major Danielle Bennett commented that many professors at Shanghai tend to teach from a more research-based perspective, as opposed to Stern professors who teach from a “tangible” work experience.

Bennett, and other New York students, also added that Shanghai classes seem to have a lot more busy work than Stern.

The general consensus regarding the courses and their workload, time commitment, and difficulty level is “pretty much the same.” An overwhelming amount of students really didn’t see many big differences between courses at the two campuses. The experiences students have in either site seem to rely much less on the actual classes, but more so on the general environment of the community.